The Most Famous

SINGERS from Switzerland

This page contains a list of the greatest Swiss Singers. The pantheon dataset contains 4,381 Singers, 17 of which were born in Switzerland. This makes Switzerland the birth place of the 46th most number of Singers behind North Macedonia, and Cuba.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Swiss Singers of all time. This list of famous Swiss Singers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Swiss Singers.

1. Lys Assia (1924 - 2018)

With an HPI of 64.34, Lys Assia is the most famous Swiss Singer. Her biography has been translated into 58 different languages on wikipedia.

Rosa Mina Schärer (3 March 1924 – 24 March 2018), known by her stage name Lys Assia, was a Swiss singer who won the first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956. Assia was born in Rupperswil, Aargau, and began her stage career as a dancer, but changed to singing in 1940 where she met her first musical success in 1950 with "O mein Papa".

2. Lisa Della Casa (1919 - 2012)

With an HPI of 53.80, Lisa Della Casa is the 2nd most famous Swiss Singer. Her biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Lisa Della Casa (2 February 1919 – 10 December 2012) was a Swiss soprano most admired for her interpretations of major heroines in operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Richard Strauss, and of German lieder. She was also described as “the most beautiful woman on the operatic stage”.

3. Andreas Vollenweider (b. 1953)

With an HPI of 51.72, Andreas Vollenweider is the 3rd most famous Swiss Singer. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Andreas Vollenweider (born 4 October 1953) is a Swiss harpist. He is generally categorised as a new-age musician and uses a modified electroacoustic harp of his own design. He has worked with Bobby McFerrin, Carly Simon, Luciano Pavarotti and in 1987 received a Grammy Award for the album Down to the Moon. Vollenweider's style has been described by The New York Times as "swirling atmospheric music, which evokes nature, magic and fairy tales".

4. Anita Traversi (1937 - 1991)

With an HPI of 49.91, Anita Traversi is the 4th most famous Swiss Singer. Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Anita Traversi (25 July 1937 – 25 September 1991) was a Swiss singer, best known for her participation in the Eurovision Song Contests of 1960 and 1964.

5. Patrick Juvet (1950 - 2021)

With an HPI of 49.69, Patrick Juvet is the 5th most famous Swiss Singer. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Patrick Juvet (21 August 1950 – c. 1 April 2021) was a Swiss model and singer-songwriter, who had a string of hit records in Europe. While his early career was focused on making pop records, he found international success as a disco music performer in the latter half of the 1970s. His biggest hit, "I Love America", made the top twenty in France, Sweden and the UK, and the top ten in the US disco chart.

6. Henri Dès (b. 1940)

With an HPI of 46.58, Henri Dès is the 6th most famous Swiss Singer. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Henri Dès (born Henri Destraz 14 December 1940) is a Swiss French-language children's singer and songwriter immensely popular in European Francophone countries. In 1970, he released his first album, Retour. Dès also founded his own record label, Disques Mary-Josée, which he named after his wife. In 1969, he won the Sopot International Song Festival. He represented Switzerland in the 1970 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Retour". It was placed fourth. Henri achieved another fourth place, this time in the Swiss national final for Eurovision 1976, with the song "C'est pour la vie". On 15 March 2019 he joined striking school children in Lausanne protesting against climate change.

7. Paola del Medico (b. 1950)

With an HPI of 44.34, Paola del Medico is the 7th most famous Swiss Singer. Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Paola del Medico Felix (born 5 October 1950) is a Swiss singer.

8. Paolo Meneguzzi (b. 1976)

With an HPI of 39.97, Paolo Meneguzzi is the 8th most famous Swiss Singer. His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Paolo Meneguzzi (born 6 December 1976, as Pablo Meneguzzo) is a Swiss Italian singer. He is the son of Loredana Pacchiani and Gomez Meneguzzo.

9. Salvatore Licitra (1968 - 2011)

With an HPI of 38.68, Salvatore Licitra is the 9th most famous Swiss Singer. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Salvatore Licitra (10 August 1968 – 5 September 2011) was an Italian operatic tenor.

10. Francine Jordi (b. 1977)

With an HPI of 37.88, Francine Jordi is the 10th most famous Swiss Singer. Her biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Francine Jordi (born Francine Lehmann, 24 June 1977) is a Swiss pop singer. As a young child, she sang songs for Japanese tourists in Interlaken. With this musical background she won the German Grand Prix der Volksmusik in 1998 with the song "Das Feuer der Sehnsucht". Jordi subsequently became a star in Switzerland with chart success singing mostly in German and leading to golden records and tours throughout not only Switzerland, but also Germany and Austria. She hosted two TV shows at the ARD. In 2002, she represented Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest in Tallinn with a French language song "Dans le jardin de mon âme". In autumn that year, she made a solo tour with her band in Switzerland. As of September 2015, Jordi has been presenter of the long-running TV show, Musikantenstadl.

People

Pantheon has 20 people classified as Swiss singers born between 1919 and 2001. Of these 20, 15 (75.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Swiss singers include Andreas Vollenweider, Henri Dès, and Paola del Medico. The most famous deceased Swiss singers include Lys Assia, Lisa Della Casa, and Anita Traversi. As of April 2024, 3 new Swiss singers have been added to Pantheon including Paola del Medico, Remo Forrer, and Marius Bear.